The Pony in Me
by TheDarknessofInsanity
Summary: Jane and Mark have accidentally turned into their OC's. (Mark's fault) Luna takes the siblings to Equestria, where they will stay until a reversal is found. However, something is going wrong in Ponyville, and only Jane has the answer. She just doesn't want to believe it... WARNING: Jane's OC is an alicorn. Live with it. Slight OOC. All OCs are mine. I own nothing.
1. Goodnight

"Goodnight." Jane called out over her shoulder. A chorus of uncaring mumbling broke out from behind her, more of a reaction than she expected, with the exception of her little brother who ran up and hugged Jane's legs at full speed, almost knocking her over.

"Whoa! Goodnight to you to, kid." she said smiling, ruffling his hair. He grinned up at her.

Jane loved her brothers more than anything else in the world. Her older brother kept to himself, probably because he was embarrassed by his secret passion for _My Little Pony_, though his love of that certain franchise was shared by his sister. Jane knew Mark was a brony, which she had nothing against, and she herself was a pegasister, but still Mark kept to himself though his attachment with his sister was still stronger than anything else. They spoke through Facebook and other online chats from their laptops, but he still hadn't been seen for days, refusing to video chat or send Jane a picture of himself. Mum kept yelling at him through the door to come out, but the door stayed firmly locked. Jane wondered what he was doing in there.

She was pulled back to reality by her little brother, Mike, pulling on her arm. Going to bed at night was hard, because he just wanted to play with his big sister whom he loved so much. She picked him up and hugged him tightly, kissing the top of his fluffy brown hair before setting him down again.

Jane detached herself from his five-year-old arms and, laughing, escaped to her room, her 'cave' as she liked to think of it. The walls were plastered with various posters of bands, dragons, drawings, TV shows, even a couple of _My Little Pony _posters found their way onto the crowded surroundings. It was furnished with an off-the-ground bed with a matching set of purple leopard-print pillowcase and blanket and black sheets, a dark reddish-brown wood desk, a couple of grey and black marbled steel shelves, a toy box and a built-in fish tank, which always glowed faintly blue at night from a gentle glow-in-the-dark backdrop that came with the tank. It was comforting to look at as Jane went to sleep. But she wasn't sleeping now. Mark had promised to connect to her tonight, and he said it was important.

Jane grabbed her laptop from a nook in her bed's base and jumped up to her mattress and snuggled under the blanket, warm, comfortable and interested as to what could be so important. She logged on to Skype and saw that her brother, MarkedOut, was on. _A ridiculous name_, she thought. Although, her own handle, TheFallenAngel, was more dramatic and over-the-top than his.


	2. Skype

_MarkedOut: hey Jane hru_

_TheFallenAngel: Stop being lazy and type properly. What did you want to tell me?_

_MarkedOut: Sorry. I want to see you again. I had no idea it would be so hard to keep away from our family..._

_TheFallenAngel: Wait, you're coming out!? When? Does mum know?_

_MarkedOut: God, I hope not._

_TheFallenAngel: Hey, just out of curiosity what have you been doing? Does it have anything to do with that Luna book?_

Mark had bought a book called Spells of the Princess Luna off some auction site after the owner begged him to take it. The cover looked old and worn, but it had an image of Princess Luna the pony on it so it had to be newer than Friendship is Magic. Apparently, it was bad luck but Mark still wanted it. He absolutely loved Luna.

_MarkedOut: Yeah. I tried one of the spells and you'll never guess what happened._

_TheFallenAngel: What? Oh wait, no, I can guess. It worked._

_It so didn't work_, thought Jane.

_MarkedOut: Actually yeah it did, miss smartypants._

_TheFallenAngel: Oh, so now I'm Twilight Sparkle's toy horse? You've gone crazy. What happened?_

_MarkedOut: You'll see. Set the alarm on your PC for about 11 o'clock. I'll see you then. Also I think Big Mac liberated Smartypants..._

_TheFallenAngel: Mark! Tell me what you did!_

_-MarkedOut has disconnected-_

_Okay, now I'm officially concerned, _Jane decided. She decided to do her favorite thing to calm herself down. She logged on to deviantART and started playing around with the pony creator. She pasted in the ponycodes for the pony and her clothing. Her OC, Midnight Shade, had only just made a comeback online after being called 'Mary Sue' one too many times. She now had safe haven in the group 'Unpopular MLP OC's FTW' and lived amongst various disliked ponies. There were a surprising number, considering bronies and pegasisters were supposed to 'love and tolerate' as a rule. Probably what got people going off about it was the fact that Shade was an alicorn with an evil alter ego, Nightwing, the spirit of Pure Fear, a navy-blue alicorn with the same kind of eyes as Nightmare Moon and a black-and-red striped mane. Shade herself was one notch taller than a normal-sized pony, and she was a purple alicorn with a short black-and-pink mane with freckles on her nose and the same eyes as Twilight. She also wore a black-and-pink suit to over the fact that she didn't have a cutie mark. Really, Jane couldn't decide what her talent would be aside from scaring other ponies. She didn't even do that on _purpose_.

Jane still loved her and posted more and more pictures of her every time she finished one off. No pony should be left out.

It was getting late. At about ten she set an alarm for eleven and settled down for an hour of reading _Flax the Feral Fairy_. It was a babyish book, but Jane loved all thing magical and mythical, plus it was fun to read about the twisted world of fairies at the academy, even if it was a bit too pink and frilly for her taste. She tore through that one and moved on to _The Reformed Vampire Support Group_. This was more her area. She was about halfway through the book when her alarm buzzed. Eleven. She logged back on to Skype and started talking to Mark again.

_TheFallenAngel: Okay, what did you do? TELL ME!_

_MarkedOut: In a minute. Just do something for me?_

_TheFallenAngel: … What._

_MarkedOut: Repeat this. 'I, Jane, pledge myself to Luna and the world of Equestria, and wish to be transformed and transported'._

_TheFallenAngel: Mark? What's this?_

_MarkedOut: Just do it. Oh, and what's your OC's name again?_

_TheFallenAngel: Midnight Shade. What are you making me do?_

_MarkedOut: Just a thing. If it doesn't work, I promise I'll come out. If it does, meet me in my room._

_TheFallenAngel: Okay! Now, is there more?_

_MarkedOut: Yeah, but you need to say it all in one go._

_TheFallenAngel: Fine. Gimme._

_MarkedOut: I, Jane, pledge myself to Luna and the world of Equestria, and wish to be transformed and transported. My new body shall be one of my own creation, the pony Midnight Shade, and I take full responsibility for all side effects of this change. For the withheld control of Discord, Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon, I swear this event shall be kept secret._

_TheFallenAngel: Oh my god..._

_-MarkedOut has disconnected-_


	3. Uh-Oh

Jane was freaking out. Before her very eyes, her hands swelled, fingers fusing and turning purple and taking her ability to type. Her nails seemed to turn to liquid and run over her ruined hands, forming a strong, thin layer of enamel, which greatly resembled pony hooves. The purple color snaked its way up her arms like vines around a tree. She tried to run to the door, but tripped over her feet, which seemed to be going through the same transformation as her hands. She wound up biting the door handle in an effort to open it. By this point two fluffy wings were sprouting from her back and what felt like a horn on her forehead. Could it be that her brother had turned her into a horse? No, she was Midnight Shade and-

"AAAGH!" she fell forward as her arms lengthened and thickened, her legs thickening too. Her bones clicked and clacked as they rearranged, splitting apart, knitting together, but she felt no pain from all this. She was nearly to Mark's door. Just halfway across the hallway and- but Mike's door was opening, probably he wanted to see what was going on. Jane darted behind a DVD shelf and hoped he didn't wander to far into the dark house. Fortunately he had always been scared of the dark...

Mike walked about ten steps before he remembered that fact. The washing outside flapping on the line was enough to send him squealing into his room and as soon as the door shut quietly, so as not to attract the attention of 'ghosts', Jane crept out of her hiding place, picking up speed as she went. Now all that had to happen was her horn had to finish growing, and the streaks in her mane were appearing. Her wings were growing clusters of feathers now, and her skin was purple. She fell again and gave up trying to walk. She walked on all fours easier than her legs, as her arms were now the same length as her legs. She was beginning to think of herself as a pony, but still everything was fuzzy and she felt like she would pass out at any minute. She was finally at the door and, on the ground, almost a full pony except for her horn, she hit her nose gently against the door and, immediately before she passed out, the door opened and the last thing she saw was a set of four sea-blue legs.

"Mark..." she whispered as everything turned black.


	4. And Suddenly - Ponies

Jane woke up from the weirdest nightmare ever. Her brother had turned her into a pony and she'd been dragged into his room. She even still felt like an equine.

"Jane! Are you OK?" Mark's dark room swam into focus and Jane blinked a few times, adjusting to the lack of light. A shuffling sound next to her, and then a female voice spoke as she tried to sit up.

"Art thou sure thy sister shalt come with us? Should we admit her some time to adjust to being a-"

"JANE! Oh, thank God- are you alright? Princess? Can you see her?"

"Yes, we see thy sister as clearly as if it was our sister's day, Mark," said the voice irritably, " however we must make a choice soon, our time here is limited."

"Yes, I-I understand, Princess. Jane?" Mark's voice was soft now, filled with concern. Jane tried to stand, but succeeded only in falling off the bed on to the floor with a loud "Oof! Ow."

Mark chuckled softly. "She's fine, Princess. Clumsy as usual." Jane blinked a couple of times, just to be sure she wasn't hallucinating the two ponies in front of her. One, a pegasus stallion, she recognized dimly, but the other was obviously-

_Princess Luna? Clearly, I'm still dreaming_, thought Jane unhappily. The pony princess of the Night was definitely _not _in her brother's room, and neither was she. She was in her bed, sleeping, and she should be waking up now. Now. Now. _Now_!

Nope. Not waking up. Stuck in dreamland. Oh well, at least it had ponies.

"Jane?" said the pegasus gently, "You're not dreaming."

"Oh, I'm not dreaming? Good. All good. Fine. Okay, it's real. EXPLAIN THE PONIES THEN!" she screamed. She tried to get up again, but her legs felt weird. For the first time, she looked down.

Oh, look... pony. Pretty purple pony. Haha, that sounded weird. And dressed with a suit and cape, too! Oh, this was funny. So funny.

She tried getting up like a pony, and though she wobbled and staggered, she stayed up quite easily. She took a shaky step, and to her surprise she didn't immediately collapse or topple over. She managed a weak laugh, a small, crazy sound. _Okay. I'm a horse. Wonderful. Perfect. Sweet! I'm Midnight Shade, alicorn extraordinaire or something like that! Yay, scary pony! Whee! Let's go save Equestria or something. That's what ponies seem to do, yes? _Jane smiled broadly at the two ponies, then immediately made a dash for the bed, hiding under it, and promptly started hyperventilating.

"Janie?" the pegasus stepped over to the bed and peered at the hard-breathing alicorn underneath. He put his hoof on her shoulder and that seemed to calm her down enough for her to poke her head out. She caught sight of a stunned-looking Princess Luna staring at her, looking properly for the first time..

"Thy pony... thou art an alicorn? That means... we are like... sisters. Thy pony is of royal type..."

"Oh, okay... So, like, I'm a pony, and a potential royal, and WHAT THE HAY!?" she exclaimed as she smashed a hoof in her face, which quickly flew to her mouth as she turned to the pegasus beside her.

"Mark?" she quivered. He smiled encouragingly, "Okay, so we're both ponies. And now I speak like a pony. 'Hay'? Really?" Mark shrugged. As near as he figured, that was a side-effect. His sister looked scared.

"I need a hug!"she cried, as tears started falling from her eyes. She curled up tightly and shook with crying. Mark grimaced at the Princess, like _She's not usually like this_. The Princess nodded and walked over, folding her legs beneath her as she lay next to Jane, who looked up with wet eyes. Luna pulled Jane's hooves out from under the bed and pulled her out with Mark's help. Luna moved next to Jane and placed a wing over her like a blanket.

"Little sister Jane, we understand if thou does not understand thy predicament, but thou must understand there is little we can do for now. Come to Equestria with us, see what our elder sister Celestia has to say on the matter. Presumably we shall be able to find a reversal spell."

Jane looked up into the Princess's kind face, then to her brother's encouraging visage, then down at the floor at her bent knees, considering the offer.

"But, what about our family? Mike?" she asked. The Princess looked confused until Mark stepped in.

"Mark is our youngest brother, Princess. Jane loves him with all her heart." Jane nodded sadly.

"If we go, thou shall have to leave thy family." Luna said gently, "however if we don't go, we cannot find a reversal, which may take years. A harsh curse though it is, it is a worthwhile thing to be away from one's family for a while, and there is no better place than the magical Equestria." Light started entering the room and Luna shook her head, sending tiny glittering stars through the room. "If thou does not agree to leave soon, thou shall have to remain this way forever. We must go." she said, standing up. So did Jane. Mark walked over to her side and smiled sadly.

"Jane, if we do not leave soon then there's no telling what will happen to us. We'll end up as science experiments, or sideshows at a circus or something. This is our best chance."

Jane sighed and turned to the Princess. "There's no way of reversing it now?"

"No."

"Well then..." Jane turned to Mark with a sudden grin. "Perhaps we should go. Mark?" Mark, looking stunned at this sudden change of heart, beamed at her and nodded happily, trotting over.

Jane still wasn't quite sure of what was going to happen, but there was no going back now. For better or worse, for now, Midnight Shade became real.

**A/N YES I KNOW SHE TURNED INTO AN ALICORN. SHUT UP AND READ OR LEAVE.**


	5. A Decision Is Made

Luna traced a circle on the wall with her horn, then tapped the center. A midnight-blue spiral flowed from the place Luna last touched and formed a vortex, big enough to admit a small horse. Or Jane. Luna stepped through, then Jane lined up and stared through the portal, trying to determine their destination. She couldn't see properly through the swirling mass, but Mark joined her.

"If you can't bring yourself to just walk in, why not take a run-up?" He suggested. Jane agreed and backed to the furthest wall, then ran with all the speed she could muster, which, since she was still getting used to pony form, was somewhere in between a trot and a canter, but was still enough to do the trick. She tumbled through the portal into blinding white light. A few seconds her brother charged into her, knocking them both to the ground. They laughed and got up, their eyes adjusting to the bright white surrounding them...

...and saw a regal-looking white alicorn with a flowing multicolored mane – Princess Celestia – surrounded by her sister, Luna, and six smaller ponies and a baby dragon. Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Jane's and Mark's mouths both hung wide open, laughter now long gone, and their expressions of utter amazement caused the puffy-maned Pinkie Pie to snort with laughter, before bursting out with giggling, beating the ground with her bright pink hoof. Applejack, the orange farm horse, nudged her and nodded her head toward the newcomers.

Twilight, Celestia and Luna stepped forward, looking at the pair of new ponies, and the sibling disentangled themselves, stood, and bowed as best they could. Jane managed by bending her left front leg, stretching her right in front as she had seen on TV. Apparently this was acceptable, but Mark was not having as much luck, and he fell over onto his back. He grinned sheepishly and stood up facing the Princesses and Twilight, who trotted over to Jane.

"What's your name?" she asked curiously.

"I-I'm Jane-"

"No, no, your _pony _name."

"I don't... what do you mean?"

Twilight sighed impatiently. For a unicorn of her intellect, explaining things was evidently tiring.

"It's the name of your pony, not your human form. I believe you call them 'OC's'?"

"Oh." Jane said, surprised. "My name's Midnight Shade, I guess."

"Good." said Twilight, satisfied. "Then that's what we'll call you. Midnight Shade, welcome to Equestria. Who's THAT one?" she asked hurriedly, leaping out of the way as Mark somehow tripped on a flat surface and nearly fell on her. Jane glared at Twilight.

"_That one _happens to be my _brother_, so you can refrain yourself from using anything but his name!" she snapped. Twilight, Mark, Luna, and Celestia all looked at her. She felt a little surprised herself. She didn't normally act this way! Another side-effect, maybe.

Twilight recovered and glared at Jane. "There was no need for that."

Jane blushed, which just meant she turned a deeper purple. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just..." In fact, she didn't know what it 'just' was, but there was no time to explain before Fluttershy fluttered over to Twilight.

"It's okay. I'm sure she didn't mean it, did you Shade?" Jane, still getting used to her new name, took a second to realize Fluttershy was talking to _her _before shaking her head. Mark, who had gotten up, trotted over to Jane and faced the eight other ponies.

"So where do we go now? What do we do?" he asked with concern in his voice. Jane-who was now mentally referring to herself as 'Shade'- silently hoped they wouldn't have to-

"Oh! You can come to Ponyville with us and stay until we find the thing you were looking for, because lost things are never lost forever and even though you never had it in the first place I'm _totally sure _we can _totally help_!" chattered Pinkie helpfully. The others nodded agreeably and looked at the Princesses hopefully. Jane did too, but only because she hoped they could stay here instead. Surely Canterlot Castle had better resources for finding a cure?

Luna looked at Celestia. "We expected a different reaction. Surely we can provide better chances of finding a reversion spell or potion?" Jane nodded, but Mark chimed in:

"We could study at Twilight's library. To search for a cure, I mean." Jane elbowed him sharply, but it was no good.

"I think my student would be more than happy to share her knowledge-and her books-with our new arrivals," declared Celestia, "until such a time where a cure is found. Twilight, do you agree?"

"Why, of course, Princess. Definitely! They can use the spare room in my treehouse in the meantime."

"It is decided, then. Midnight Shade and-" Celestia beckoned to Mark, "what is your name?"

"Oh," Mark said thoughtfully. After a short pause, he replied with: "Sea Breeze."

"Very well. Midnight Shade and Sea Breeze shall reside in Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle until we discover a cure for their predicament." Jane felt her hopes plummet, hit the ground and shatter.

Luna spoke up: "As Ponyville is a small town, information should not be hard to obtain. If a unicorn of unusual talent comes to the library, perhaps you could question them?"

The fragments of Jane's hope disintegrated completely, then blew away in a hopeless wind until the colorfully-maned pegasus Rainbow Dash jumped in.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Are we really gonna have to teach these new guys about being ponies? Like, magic and flying and stuff? Because, I have better things to be doing."

Applejack raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Like?"

"Ummm... I have to - clear clouds?"

"It ain't on yer schedule fer another two weeks, Rainbow. Yer jus' bein' lazy, then again, should Ah expect any different?"

"Hey!"

"Ya can't even imagine what it'd do fer these two ta learn from the 'best young flier' in Cloudsdale, can ya? Wonders, Ah tell ya. They'd be soarin' the skies easily as birds, and you'd be off the hook, wouldn't ya? Free ta nap or what have ya." Applejack was playing to what she knew would work – flattery. Rainbow seemed to consider, eventually shrugging and sighing, "Alright..."

Jane made a promise to herself not to pester Rainbow Dash too much, lest she give up entirely and pass them over to the only other possible flight teacher – Fluttershy, which would not get far, as she was afraid of heights. No-one understood that particular fact.

Jane had a sudden urge to hug something, so she hugged Mark. Mark rolled his eyes, understanding his sister's love of hugs completely, but everyone else just looked confused at the spontaneous embrace.

She let go, happy now. Her mood always changed after a hug. No-one understood _that_, either. She noticed the other ponies staring at her, and blushed again, lowering her head slightly.

_Just what I need, to look like a complete freak in front of the people – _ponies_ – that are supposed to be helping me. How come Midnight Shade never has this problem? _Jane questioned silently. She then answered herself: _Because in the stories I control everything, that's why. Logic. Be Midnight Shade, Jane! Be the pony!_

Twilight shook herself off. "Well, in that case we should be going. Princesses." she nodded politely and bowed, followed by everyone else. Then they trotted of, satisfied that they were helping yet another troubled pony (or two), while Jane, scared of what would happen later, and Mark, who was happily oblivious to any and all future problems that might occur, thanked the Princesses and walked after the six other ponies. At the end of the small procession, Jane wondered if she would pick up flying as well as Shade had done, but her thoughts were interrupted by a '_Psst! Midnight Shade!_'

Jane turned and looked about to see the Princess of the Night peering around the corner, motioning to her. The Princess of the Sun was nowhere to be seen, and Jane's seven accomplices had long since left. Jane trotted over quietly.

"Little sister," Luna began. Jane shifted uncomfortably as the Princess continued, "We understand this must be strange. Our book of secret spells has not been used as such for many years. Humans have never come to Equestria before thou and thy brother, so... if the residents of Ponyville come to cause you troubles, please do not hesitate to ask Us for help. Oh, and by the way We shall come to check on thou from time to time, but only during the night when it is Our reign. Goodbye, Midnight Shade."

"Goodbye, Princess. And... thank you for bringing us here." With that, Jane turned and walked out after the disappearing forms of the six ponies and her brother, picking up pace until she was galloping.

The Princess of the Night watched her leave, fully aware of the one simple, dangerous fact that Midnight Shade seemed to have forgotten about herself.


	6. The Speed of Pony

Twilight looked around as she was boarding the train. Shade seemed to have disappeared.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, can you see Shade?"

"Who? Oh, yeah, right." Dash flapped her wings and zipped through the air, retracing their steps at three times the speed, crashing into a mass of purple near where they had started the walk to the train. Midnight Shade glared at the cyan pegasus that had just plowed into her.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?"

Rainbow ruffled her feathers. "I was! You were right around the corner, not my fault."

"You shouldn't go so fast! You're going to hurt somepony... else."

"Come on, Twilight sent me. Apparently, we can't leave without you." Dash spat, showing evident dislike for her new companion. She flapped her wings, taking to the air again. She was flying over a building when she noticed Shade wasn't with her. She was trotting along on the ground, trying to keep half an eye out for Rainbow Dash, who swooped down and poked her wing, still firmly tucked away. Shade looked down at her wings, widened her eyes and stretched them out experimentally, flapping timidly. Dash rolled her eyes, suppressing a frustrated groan. Shade flapped harder, flying a short way in the air before dropping to the ground.

"Ya know," Dash began heatedly, "even Scootaloo's a better flier than you are, and she's only a little filly." Shade scowled at her as she continued, unaware of the hostility. "Come on, I guess we'll walk." She tilted her head back the way she came, starting off with Shade at her heels. Dash saw an opportunity, and started trotting, hoping that the clumsy pony would trip in front of all these important-looking ponies strolling through the streets of Canterlot. However, Shade quickened her own pace, keeping up with a determined gleam in her eye. She knew all about Rainbow Dash, and she guessed what she was trying to do. So when her escort started to canter, she too sped up and kept pace. Soon the pair were galloping, racing each other through the city. Subconsciously, Shade's wings opened, feathers fluttering in the breeze created by the speed of the race. They started flapping, and soon she raced through the air towards the unknowing Rainbow Dash, who was galloping flat-out, sure she was winning as she could no longer hear her accomplice's hoofbeats. She slowed a little, tired, and tumbled over in a heap as a speeding mass of purple and pink shot past, and she distinctly heard Midnight Shade laughing as she swept through the streets at breakneck speed.

_The tortoise beats the hare! _Shade thought triumphantly. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Rainbow Dash's indignant "Hey!" and felt the change in the air behind her which meant her opponent had now taken to the air as well. She flew as fast as she could, gaining altitude until she was headed straight for a brick wall. She allowed herself a small grin as she planned her next move. Outmaneuvering the great Rainbow Dash.

As said pegasus pony sped towards the competition, Shade continued toward the wall as fast as she could, only half as fast as Dash but still speedy enough to warrant at least a broken leg if this didn't work. She waited until the pressure was almost too much to bear, then, kicking all four legs in a galloping motion, she flipped so her stomach and hooves were facing the wall and curled up, spreading hew wings against the wind created by her speed, slowing down as Dash zipped past out of control, crashing into another pony.

"OOF!"  
"Ow!"

"Rainbow Dash! GET OFF!" It was Twilight, who had come to see where the two mares had gone. Shade, having only bumped gently into the building against her hooves, fluttered down to the ground looking smug. She caught sight of Twilight's stern expression and her face fell slightly.

"Uh, hey, Twilight. What are you doing here?" Shade asked quietly, kicking the ground with a hoof.

Twilight never lost her look. "I've been trying to find the one who was supposed to just follow us back. And the one who was supposed to find her." she said sharply, narrowing her eyes at Dash, who bit back a response about how it was not her fault, how Shade was more trouble than she was worth, and maybe she would have been better off staying in Canterlot. The truth was, Dash was embarrassed that the new pony had beaten her in a race of FLYING, which was Dash's strong point.

_Nopony should be able to beat me, _the pegasus thought bitterly. _It's because she had to make an alicorn OC, isn't it? She just had to make a stupid alicorn who has awesome flying skills! Well, at least Twilight might let me off teaching her how to use those wings. I don't like her. _With this important fact buzzing through her mind, she turned to the lavender unicorn in front of them and asked if they were going to stand around talking, "Or are we gonna get back home and get those two settled in?" Twilight looked at her friend suspiciously, hearing the train whistle in the distance, which made Shade jump.

"AH! The train!" She realized, hopping from hoof to hoof. "We'll never make it back in time!"

Dash snorted. "Speak for yourself." She jumped into the air, shooting off at such a speed that she only left behind her trademark rainbow-colored trail. Twilight hit her head with a hoof, muttering to herself "Come on, think think think... Ah-ha!" her horn started glowing as she grabbed hold of Shade around the shoulders. "Hold on!"

"To what!?"

"ME!" Twilight grinned as they teleported.


	7. Passing the Time

As the light faded, Shade staggered to one side as her forelegs failed her and she stumbled. A familiar sea-blue hoof helped her up.

"Finally, you're back. We were worried you wouldn't get to the train in time." Sea Breeze said, relieved to have his sister on board at last. At that moment a streak of blue and rainbow shot into the carriage, looking pleased with herself. Her face fell dramatically when she saw that Twilight and Shade were back on time.

"What? How are you – I just LEFT you guys at the – when did they-?" She was cut off as Shade threw her a very angry glare. She was more or less silent for the rest of the train ride to Ponyville. Pinkie Pie sat down to challenge Spike to a game of cards, the cards she acquired from who-knows-where. Rarity started lecturing Rainbow Dash on the state of her mane and Twilight had brought along – of course – a book. Midnight Shade and Sea Breeze sat looking out the window, marveling silently at the sights before them. Shade gasped happily when she saw a phoenix fly past, leaving embers floating to earth in a beautiful display. Sea Breeze nudged his sister when he saw what looked like a timber wolf trotting around in a dense patch of trees. The pair continued staring intently through the window throughout the entire trip. Applejack, noticing this, pointed them out to Fluttershy, who smiled cutely.

"They really are making the most of this. I can't believe we're going to have them leave one day, they seem so nice." She said softly, so as not to disturb the amazed siblings. Applejack chuckled.

"Well, so long as they don't get into any trouble. Ah saw that Midnight Shade lookin' at Dashie real hostile-like when one saw the other after she got back to the train. Whaddaya think happened in town?"

"I'll tell you." Twilight cut in before Fluttershy could reply, setting down her book and strolling over to the chatting pair. "Rainbow Dash deemed it appropriate to challenge Shade to a race. However, by some miracle Shade outmaneuvered her, making a decent landing while Rainbow herself crashed into... a wall." She finished, changing the story around so she wasn't crashed into at the end. Applejack raised an eyebrow, but Fluttershy giggled at the story, looking around at the cyan pegasus herself.

She sat in a chair looking as though she'd rather be anywhere but there as a happily humming Rarity brushed and styled her mane, ditching one design after another in an effort to find a hairstyle that suited the tomboyish pony. She was truly in her element here. Fluttershy grinned at her best friend, and the unicorn, catching her eye, winked back as she undid Rainbow's hair from the elegant knot she had done. Dash groaned with impatience and annoyance, fluttering her wings slightly as Rarity started with yet another extravagant styling. Fluttershy rolled her eyes, smiling, as she rejoined the conversation. They all jumped as Pinkie Pie started bouncing around, chattering about the party she was going to have for the newcomers. She squealed in excitement as the train slowed down.

"WE'RE AT PONYVILLE!" She screeched happily, scooping up the two new ponies in a big, totally Pinkie Pie-style hug. Sea Breeze actually returned the hug. Shade looked down at the party pony, surprised and confused. She started struggling to get out of the pink pony's surprisingly strong grip as Pinkie started crushing her.

"Pinkie... I can't... breathe!" She gasped as she squirmed. Her wings started beating as struggling turned to thrashing. Sea Breeze stared at his sister's extreme reaction.

"Uh, Pinkie... I think you should let go now. You're kinda suffocating my sister." He requested gently. Pinkie noticed Shade's efforts to escape and released the pair. Shade fell to the floor, gasping loudly as she refilled her lungs. Her brother helped her up again and she fell onto his shoulders. Sea Breeze shook his sister lightly as the other ponies left the carriage.

"Come on, sis. It's getting dark and we don't wanna stay up too late, we need to get to Ponyville in time for Twilight to set up our room, right?" He said. Shade nodded as her brother put her onto her own hooves. They trotted out after the other six ponies as their home town came into view. Twilight turned to them.

"Welcome to Ponyville, you two. Come on, we need to see the Mayor."


	8. Some Familiar Faces

Town hall was HUGE. Shade felt tiny just looking up at it, though Fluttershy assured her that it wasn't as tall as it looked, as she knew from flying around it. Dash didn't join in on the conversation as she was obviously still upset from the race. Shade yawned sleepily as Twilight knocked on the door, pushing it open. The big, empty room was full of ponies, all staring at the newcomers. Shade immediately lost the feeling of being tired and panicked at the sight of so many ponies looking at her, backing out of the hall and bumping into Rarity.

"Oof! Dear, we must introduce you to the Mayor... Come along, we ponies aren't really that frightening, we won't judge you based on your race, if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh, no, it's not that. I'm just... not good with large crowds, so I'll just stay out here for the time being, I think."

"My, my, that won't do! Come on, I'll go in with you. You won't be alone, that way!"

Shade swallowed, looking back around at the small crowd swarming around her brother, who looked around for her. Catching her eye, and noticing her terrified expression, he grinned widely, pointing at her so that nopony missed it. Rarity nudged the shy mare forward, repeating her words. "Come on, you won't be alone! I'll stay with you the whole night." Shade looked around at her skeptically, remembering when she had said something similar to Rainbow Dash but agreed that if Rarity stayed with her the whole time she would go in.

"Thank you, Rarity."

"Not at all, my dear, not at all! Now, come come, in we go!" Shade was pushed forward again, this time more forcefully. Immediately, the alicorn was swallowed by a sea of ponies, asking her how she was an alicorn since there were only supposed to be three, what her name was, why she was wearing a suit, where was she staying. She was overwhelmed, but Rarity, true to her word, stayed by her side the entire evening. She shooed away unwanted ponies and chatted to Shade about everything there was to do in Ponyville. They found a small cluster of tables that were set up not far from the stage and sat down. Sea Breeze found them sitting there, Shade half-listening to Rarity talking about the time she went to Canterlot and met the top fashion designers. Sea Breeze motioned to Shade.

"Twilight told me that the Princesses sent a letter to the Mayor about us coming to Ponyville. So we get a party!" Here he grinned secretively. "Oh yeah...You will never guess who I found?"

"Who?"

He pointed through the crowd. "See just past the pony in the top hat? The pegasus?"

Shade peered in the direction of her brother's pointed hoof as her own flew to her open mouth. "No, it's not... Oh Celestia, is that DERPY HOOVES?"

Her brother beamed. "Uh-huh!" The grey pegasus was staring around with her huge, adorable yellow wall eyes. Her face was scrunched up in the trademark expression and her pale blond mane hung over her shoulder. Shade returned to Rarity, who had pulled a nail file from somewhere and was working on her hoof, the file held aloft in a cloud of pale blue magic.

"Hey Rarity, can we go talk to that pegasus pony over there? I sort of know her." Rarity followed Shade's gaze.

"What – you want to go speak with HER?"

Shade was taken aback by the unicorn's shocked tone. "Yeah! Why, what's wrong with that?" She asked defensively.

"Oh nothing, really, she can just be... a little difficult to understand sometimes. Please feel free to talk to her though, I'll keep my promise and come with you." So they all picked their way through the crowd, making their way toward the grey pony. As soon as they were near enough, Shade broke from the other two, trotting up and tapping Derpy on the shoulder. Derpy jumped and turned around.


	9. Introductory Weirdness

**Prepare for a long-ish chapter full of PONIES! And more ponies you probably know. And even a special background guest...**

* * *

Shade smiled. "Hello."

Derpy returned the smile. "Hi! Hey, you're that new pony. Cool! What's your name?"

"My name's Midnight Shade. What's yours?" Shade asked politely.

"My name's Ditzy Doo, but I think you're my friend so you can call me Derpy! That's my nickname. Derpy Hooves. I don't know what it means, but I think it suits me!"

"That it does. It's nice to meet you, Derpy. Maybe I'll see you around Ponyville sometime!"

"Yeah, maybe! Sometimes they let me deliver the mail. And since you're new to Ponyville, I'm sure you'll get lots of letters! Where do you live?"

Shade thought for a second before remembering her next destination. "I'm staying with Twilight Sparkle. So is my brother." She answered, pointing at her brother. He was talking to a pony with a dark pink mane and a cutie mark of a bunch of grapes, who was standing by the punch bowl.

Berry Punch, thought Shade. It was nice to see the background ponies were the same as in the show. Derpy followed Shade's outstretched hoof closely.

"Oh, the other new pony, he's your brother! Speaking of other ponies, weren't you being followed by somepony else?"

"Oh yeah, Rarity... Where is that mare?" Shade scanned the crowd. Spotting Rarity, she motioned for Derpy to follow her and she trotted up to the white pony, who was chatting sociably with a small group of entranced stallions. Shade poked her.

"Hey Rarity! Look, I brought somepony over."

Rarity turned her head, vaguely noting the pony with Shade. She turned back before realizing what she had just seen, snapping her head around again, taking in the grey pegasus's odd appearance. She somewhat reluctantly greeted the pegasus as her entourage dispersed among the crowd.

"How... How do you do?"

Derpy pulled off her typical 'I don't understand' face. "How do I do what?" Shade grinned as Rarity apparently tried not to smash a hoof into her face.

"Derpy, she's just saying 'hi'." She explained. Derpy's face brightened.

"Oh! Hi, miss Rarity!" Rarity looked warmer after being called 'miss'.

"Derpy's just been telling me about how she sometimes delivers the mail." Shade explained. "Have you ever gotten a letter from her?"

"Why yes! My package of imported perfumes arrived safely in my boutique thanks to this fine young mailmare." Derpy looked positively ecstatic at being complemented. The two mares chatted happily as Shade looked around for any other ponies she knew. There were Lyra and Bon Bon over by the tables, sharing drinks. Raindrops and Rainbow Shine fluttered near the ceiling. Shade could have sworn she saw a faintly snake-like figure snap its fingers as Colgate tripped on something and nearly stumbled into Shade.

_Discord!? _She thought incredulously. Sure, in the newer episodes he'd been reformed, but the thought of DISCORD being allowed at a PARTY... Shade shook herself and tried focusing on other things, like the stabbing headache she was suddenly getting. Mjolna and Berry Punch were now both talking to Sea Breeze. Shade said goodbye to the happy mares next to her, freeing Rarity from her duties as escort. She trotted over to her brother and the two ponies chatting to him.

"Guess what?" She sang happily. "Derpy's like my best friend now."

Sea Breeze gaped at her as his friends looked round at her. "What!? How did you do that, offer her like a truckload of muffins?"

"Nope! I was being all friendly and stuff. It gets you places. Also I think now her and Rarity are friends. Also my doing, might I add." Shade continued, gesturing to the two mares who were laughing together at something that had been said. Sea Breeze stared at her.

"Whoa. Well done! These are-"

"Mjolna and Berry Punch?" The two background ponies also stared at the alicorn pony before them. Mjolna cleared her throat.

"Yes, how did you know that?"

Shade smiled secretively. "Oh, I just know these things." Sea Breeze nudged his sister in the side, nodding towards the stage. The Mayor was standing there waiting. Everyone was quiet as she started to speak. Shade mouthed the words 'Fillies and gentlecolts...' along with the Mayor's speech. Sea Breeze saw this and grinned again as the Mayor continued with her short introductory speech.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, today we are celebrating to welcome the arrival of two special arrivals in our town, Midnight Shade and Sea Breeze. These two have been sent by decision of the Princesses in Canterlot. Hopefully we will make these two feel welcome! Should we meet them? Will they please approach the stage?"

"And by that," muttered Sea Breeze, "she means 'come up here so we can stare at you until you feel really awkward while we make our judgments'."

"Ya know," replied his sister, "you have a real habit of making EVERYTHING sound negative. Well done." They laughed at each other quietly as they made their way onstage. They faced the amazed crowd, and Shade appreciated just how big the crowd was. She felt herself blush again as she lost the smile, hiding behind her brother as best she could without it being obvious. Sea Breeze was waving to everypony so he didn't notice until Shade's tail brushed against his leg. Unaware that his sister was trying not to be seen, he grabbed her and pulled her to the front. Shade started shaking with tension as she felt the other ponies' eyes staring at her.

She tried to pull away from her brother, but his grip was as strong as Pinkie Pie's. At least I'm not being suffocated, she thought. By now everypony had started talking about them, so at least some attention was diverted elsewhere, but Shade was still uncomfortable with the interested gazes upon her. She tried to pull away again but her brother was still holding onto her, though he had stopped waving now, and was talking to the Mayor about if it was allowed to venture into the Everfree Forest after dark. It was well past 10 o'clock by now and Shade was very tired. She yawned again and slipped out of her brother's hold. He was too busy to notice.

Shade scanned the crowd, her eyes finally falling upon Twilight, who was in deep conversation with Rarity, Fluttershy and Derpy, who had acquired a muffin from somewhere and was munching it contentedly. Shade trotted over, avoiding a particularly curious crowd of ponies that were watching her. She cleared her throat and Derpy jumped and spun around.

"Hi, Shadie!" She cried gleefully. "Want a muffin?" She asked, pulling one from somewhere. It smelled of blueberries.

Shade raised her eyebrows a fraction at the variation of her nickname. "No thanks, Derpy, I just need to talk to Twilight."

"'Kay! Twi-i-ili-i-ight! Shadie wants to talk with you!" Derpy called. Twilight broke from her chat with Fluttershy and trotted over. "What's up, Shade?"

"I wanna get going soon... it's getting late and I'm tired. Plus, if my brother's head gets any bigger it's going to pop." Shade motioned to Sea Breeze, who was busy showing off to a group of tough-looking ponies. Despite herself Shade smiled happily. It was nice that her brother had finally left his room, albeit in the most unimaginable way possible. Twilight nodded.

"It IS getting kinda late. We should start heading back if we wanna set up your room in time to get a decent amount of sleep." She agreed. So, with a little help from Rarity, they rounded up Sea Breeze and started walking home.

* * *

**Did ya find him? Yeah, I don't know what the hell happened with Discord, but he seems to have wormed, or should I say snaked, his way into this chapter... And, *SPOILER ALERT* he's got a fairly important part later on. *SPOILER END* Sayonara for now!**

***EDIT* Yeah, this story's gonna take a while for me to write any more. I still have more tucked away, unposted, but I am actually writing up a new story with NO OC'S (I know right, calm yourself down!) soooooooo... Any Homestuck fans reading this or following me keep an eye out for a crazy clown finding his way into my stories sometime soon... Bye for now~!**


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